You know what I learned from the kennel lady at my current work? He paid that little old woman less than minimum wage – just $300 a week, and she was there cleaning cages and setting up for his surgeries from first thing in the morning until close every day, and came in on weekends to check on the boarding animals. When her husband died and she asked for a raise to help keep house, he said no. I’m so glad I’m shot of that whole nasty place, and working with the people who walked out on him instead.

Gangnam Style, and Call Me Maybe, because Owl loves that damn song so we ended up playing it a lot.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– Happier or sadder? Happier!

– Thinner or fatter? Fatter.

– Richer or poorer? Income-wise, richer by a significant margin, and yet somehow we still seem poorer. It seems like no matter how much extra I make, we never have any more money. It all goes into our debt.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Writing in my diary. I NEVER do it any more and I miss it.

Also, video editing. I miss that.

I also miss The Sims, but I don’t actively wish I had done more of it. It is fairly low in my priorities.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Eating. Spending money.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Here in Vancouver, without my parents for the first time in my entire life. It was good, but strange.

Hmm, I don’t know. I haven’t picked up many new books, and I’m assuming that old re-read books don’t count.

I started the Game of Thrones books this year, but I feel very conflicted about them, so I can’t call them The Best. Definitely NOT Fifty Shades of Grey. I haven’t even blogged about THAT experience yet.

Maybe Terry Pratchett’s Snuff? It’s no Thud, which is my favourite Vimes book, but it’s growing on me. I Shall Wear Midnight was a bit of a let-down, so not that.

YES, I’m picky.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Pfffff… I don’t make musical discoveries. I like certain songs on the radio, but nothing life changing.

The Occupy movement, the American election. You know – politics of a country that is not my own.

35. Who did you miss?

My family. My friends, including local ones who I never seem to see any more. My life has become too busy.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Probably a girl at my work who I identified as a geek due to her D20 earrings. We’ve discovered a mutual love of Terry Pratchett and board games.

She and her boyfriend came over for a game of Ahnk Morpork last month and they’re coming over again next week for a game of either Small World or Munchkin Quest.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.

When planning future children, do the math. We didn’t realize until too late that we had probably missed a window for having a second child, and now Owl will be three or more before we have our next one.

It’s pretty good, It’s a map of the city and you have to try and take over the city in different ways depending on your character: For example, if you are Lord De Worde you try to take over a certain number of city sections. If you are Dragon King of Arms you try to cause trouble in a certain number of sections. If you are Chrysorpase, you try to make a certain amount of money, and if you are Vimes you just have to prevent any of these people from winning!

Your personal fashion concept sounds a lot like my personal fashion concept. Except the number one yerk thing that gets all over my clothes is mucus. Oh, how babies & small children like to wipe their noses on my shirts.

I get sneezed on occasionally by kennel cough dogs but that’s about the only mucus. LOTS of lube, though. And fleas. I bet you haven’t had to turn to a child’s parent and say “See, now that’s a flea… ope, look, it hopped onto my arm…”